Neurofeedback training is a scientifically proven way of making the brain work better – essentially brain training. While it has various applications, it was approved by the American Academy of Paediatrics in 2012 as a Level 1 “best support” intervention for children suffering from attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). “We are often looking at frontal and pre-frontal problems in the brain and that area controls a lot of the executive functions like impulse control and inhibiting responses – like blurting things out and sustaining attention and reducing distractibility”.
The assessment report will explain to the parents if and how the symptoms are linked to the way the brain is functioning and whether or not neurofeedback training could change that. This investigation of the brain can be “very validating” not only for the child but also for the parents. If parents opt for this non-invasive, non-medical intervention, it is not about “trying to change the child per se”, says Keane, “but to give them some control over brain function, which is why we insist on calling it neurofeedback training because they are learning a skill”.